Who can Witness a Will?
- Wills, Trusts & Probate
- 14th Feb 2019
5 Key Things – Who can Witness a Will? Must be over 18 Must have capacity Must not be a beneficiary (or relative of beneficiary) named in the Will Can live in UK or abroad Does not need to read the Will Who can act as a Witness to a Will? We often get […]
By Stephen Attree
MLP Law
5 Key Things – Who can Witness a Will?
- Must be over 18
- Must have capacity
- Must not be a beneficiary (or relative of beneficiary) named in the Will
- Can live in UK or abroad
- Does not need to read the Will
Who can act as a Witness to a Will?
We often get asked who can act as Witnesses. The law says that any adult with capacity can act as a witness. It doesn’t matter if the witness lives in the UK or not and the witness does not have to read the Will. However, you should choose your witnesses carefully and your witness should not be a beneficiary, or a spouse of a beneficiary, under the Will otherwise they will lose their gift or entitlement under the Will. The Will would still be valid if a beneficiary, or spouse of a beneficiary, acts as a witness, but the beneficiary would lose their entitlement under the Will.
For further information please contact Laura Willis – Wills, Trusts and Probate Associate on 0161 926 1538
About the expert
Stephen Attree
Managing Partner
Stephen is the Owner of MLP Law and leads our Commercial, IP and Dispute Resolution teams which provide advice on all aspects of the law relating to mergers, acquisitions, financing, re-structuring, complex commercial contracts, standard trading terms, share options, shareholder and partnership agreements, commercial dispute resolution, joint venture and partnering arrangements, IT and Technology law, Intellectual Property, EU and competition law, Brexit and GDPR.
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